The Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest. Scholars believe it was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. Tossup Questions # Several alternate versions of this text comprise the first novel by Zachary Mason. Its protagonist is given a name meaning "he who causes pain", and is also commonly referred to with the epithet "polymetis". Its complex female characters led both Samuel Butler and Robert Graves to theorize that it was written by a Sicilian woman. Its eleventh (*) book contains a sequence of conversations with ghosts called the nekuia, while in its ninth book, the protagonist adopts the pseudonym "outis", or "nobody". Another of its characters weaves and undoes a shroud for her father in order to delay a group of her suitors. For 10 points, name this poem whose three narrative threads center on Telemachus, Penelope, and the namesake Ithacan hero, a Homeric epic. # Helen gives one character in this work a potion to inspire good dreams, and another character uses the herb moly to rescue his companions. That character in this work is given shelter by the swineherd Eumaeus and is earlier found by (*) Nausicaa after spending seven years with the nymph Calypso. In this work, dangers encountered include the Laestrygones, Scylla, and the Sirens. The protagonist of this work commits an impressive feat of archery before killing the suitors of his wife Penelope. For 10 points, name this epic about the namesake king of Argos told by Homer. # Livius Andronicus rendered this poem into Saturninan Verse. One of its characters speaks of a king who blinded Metope and forced her to turn grain into flower so she could regain her sight. Its protagonist is fed wine by Pontonuous and visits a palace guarded by Golden and Silver dogs made by Hephaestus. One character in this work is Elpenor, a man who fell off a roof and died, while its protagonist was compared to a scene from Genesis in which Isaac is nearly sacrificed in Eric Auerbach's Mimesis in a chapter titled after his (*) scar. Leucothea gives the protagonist a veil when he throws his clothes away. Among other things, Laestrygonians cannibalize the protagonist's friends, and he is given moly to combat a witch who turns men into swine. When he returns home, the protagonist is recognized by his dog Argos, who then perishes. For 10 points, name this epic poem that is a sequel to The Iliad. # The title character of this work is given a quiz about his bed after a staying with Nausicaa and the Phaeacians. This work's characters sacrifice Helios' cattle to give thanks for successfully avoiding a monster named Scylla and a whirlpool called (*) Charybdis; later, the sorceress Circe turns half of those men into pigs. Meanwhile, angered by Penelope's suitors, Telemachus investigates his father's return to Ithaca. Name this epic poem by Homer about a hero's return from the Trojan War. # In this literary work, the dog Argos recognizes his master although he is disguised as a beggar. Another character in this work, who notices a scar while washing that beggar's feet, is the old nurse Eurycleia (YURR-ick-LAY-uh). The heroine of this work resists her suitors by weaving and unweaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes (LAY-ur-teez). The hero of this work is held at Ogygia (oh-JI-jee-uh) by Calypso when the narration begins. For 10 points, what epic, featuring the characters Telemachus (tel-EM-uh-kuss) and Penelope is set after The Iliad by Homer?